Im pretty happy with the result so far. Next step is getting it smooth. I put the subs in once and i don't have much room for the magnet by the back wall. I might have to find a way to lift them higher out of the box. I don't know how I overlooked that but.. In any case any tips in general about this whole process would be much appreciated. I think I'm going to vinyl wrap it. Not quite sure how to do that either.
Im hoping this forum will be much more active then others I'm on. Just got into all this and other sites don't seem like there is much participation or interest in what I got going on.
Last edited by nellymerc; 05-06-2012 at 09:14 PM..
looks pretty good so far man. I'm always sorta impressed by people who do these.
(started one and sorta gave up after like 2 layers haha)
Anyway, I'm not sure exactly what you need done. Will the subs just plain not fit in? Or do they now have much clearance?
Thanks for the feedback guys. Yea at this point I tried one more time and it is slightly off. I'm goin to cut out two more rings and screw them to the box to raise it up some more I guess. I hope it doesn't look stupid.
if/when you cut some spacer rings, go ahead and do it sooner than later so you can work them in with your body work and make the not "look stupid" or you can take out a chunk in the back where the magnet hits and glass in a bubbles to allow for more room
I think I'm going to try the first idea since this is my first fiberglass job. Not sure I'm skilled enough to pull that off but good idea. I'll try another set of rings on top. Not sure if I'll bindi it in but I will wrap it. I'll post update pics when I can
So.. not as awesome as I would have hoped, but with working a retail schedule and me having no patience...this is what happened.
It does the job for now. Might rebuild it in a month or two and use more wood rather then fiberglass. To expense to get it durable when the box is this big. Until next time.
Not a bad recovery at all! You'll always find things you don't like... but that's the great thing, ya learn and do better next time.
Only thing I'd change is in your design.. incorporate tunnels, or passages for wire management next time.
Its a shame to detract from your lines/form, with cables laying over it.
Nice job man!
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Not a bad first try man... There's a few issues, but it's how you learn these things..
A few things that may make your life easier for the next try (don't give up now)
The portion against the seat, make it MDF, why not, it's flat, and you can staple your cloth to it just the same and make "organic" shapes... Might be a place to mount amps that aren't out in front of god n everyone..lol..
Plan ahead for wire routing, you'd "look" better right now if you routed the lower amps wires down, instead of over... But something else has to happen..
You can build "boxes" that the amps can mount into, rout the wires out the bottom/sides/ends...ect and place a trim over, or you can figure out ways of passing the wire down into the mounting surface..
Example, some of the boxes I've made.. understand, not going onto/into an enclosure, just example sake..
These where all to be mounted BELOW the surface of my amprack, but you get the idea, yes?
Another thing to make life a bit easier... After you've got your "shell" out of carpet or whatever you used... Work from the INSIDE...
As long as you don't have any major wrinkles or creases, you can apply fiberglass matt strips from the inside and gain as much strength as you want...
AND you don't have a BUTTLOAD of sanding to do... smooth the surface, fill a LITTLE, smooth, fill, smooth... ect... but when done in THIN layers, it's sooooo much eaiser to work...
Another thing, when you need to apply bondo thick to fill something, make sure you have a sharp knife/rasor and a "rasp" file (super coarse file, has teeth, rather than ridges)
Right before bondo hardens, you can knock a LOT of excess off with a razor and/or rasp... it's still slightly soft and comes off 1000x easier than waiting till it's completely hard... This is something easily test out with some scrap and a blob of bondo.. trust me, saves BIGTIME..
Also, always do a test batch of resin and/or bondo, before using on the real thing... nothing worse than finding out your brand new off the shelf hardener is bad (the hardener usually goes bad)
Having a 2x4' sheet of Melomene (plastic covered chipboard) is a good idea, the cured resin can be flaked off with a puddy knife and the surface re-used...
With that, you can pre-soak sheets of glass matt on the board, peel them up and lay them into the enclosure... very mess free, depending on how you work..
Lastly... Do you have any idea how large the enclosure actually is? If not a 12x12x12" box and a big bag of packing peanuts can tell you...
Whew... well, thats about all I got... I'm spent...
Cheers..
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You all make very good points. I wish I had found this forum before I started the build lol. Thank you for all of the tips. This was defiantly an experience and I can't wait to do another one. If I could do it all again I would defiantly make more of the box out of Mdf instead of fiberglass. I was going to build a beauty panel to cover everything like the wiring but I realize your advise is much easier.
The years passed, mankind became stupider at a frightening rate. Some had high hopes the genetic engineering would correct this trend in evolution, but sadly the greatest minds and resources where focused on conquering hair loss and prolonging erections. - Narrator: Idiocracy
Came out nice, just think how nice the next one will be. Thanks for the tips Aaron.
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Looks pretty damn good. a lot better than my two fiberglass attempts.
what steps/tutorial etc did you use for wrappin in vinyl. I did my speaker pods in vinyl and it was impossible to wrap it up smooth. looks pretty crappy (mine, not yours)
Haha damn thanks for props. I actually just sprayed it with primer and black satin paint. I had such a hard time with stretching the fleece that I said I'm going to wait to do the wrap.
As far as the fiberglass job I just watched A TON of YouTube videos and browsed forums. The day I start giving advise is another day I look forward to
Another substitute for fleece is Lycra (spandex). Far less bulky, easier to stretch and fold over without large wrinkles. Can be found at most fabric stores.
As far as the vinyl wrapping goes, it's not something that comes easy. Just be patient, plan on screwing up, and get more than you need.
Having extra at 10pm on a sunday, is way better than coming up short.
If I mess up wrapping it, how easy is it to fix? Should I practice on something else first? Also I painted this surface so I'm not sure if that would mess up the adhesion process. I think if I could get the wrap right it would save the look of the box and I would just need a way to hide the wires
If I mess up wrapping it, how easy is it to fix? Should I practice on something else first? Also I painted this surface so I'm not sure if that would mess up the adhesion process. I think if I could get the wrap right it would save the look of the box and I would just need a way to hide the wires
There are a lot of "depends" there... Weather glue will disolve the paint, can't say..
"wrapping" it with something to finish that, isn't going to happen... not with anything that will look good when you are done... There will be too many wrinckles..
That's why I posted all the tips for next time... Next time you won't holefully have a quart of bondo on the outside (thin layers) and will likely smooth it all proper...
Another thing, if you didn't re-inforce your enclosure, it's likely flexing..
I saw some bondo on the outside... bondo isn't structrual...
Quote:
The years passed, mankind became stupider at a frightening rate. Some had high hopes the genetic engineering would correct this trend in evolution, but sadly the greatest minds and resources where focused on conquering hair loss and prolonging erections. - Narrator: Idiocracy
Gotcha. Then building a panel to cover all that is what I'll try. So I get on this box, wrapping wouldnt be the best at this stage and yea I'm a lil heavy on the bondo in some spots but when I want to flatten something out and make it smooth I didn't no what else to use.
Also would there be a problem wrapping something that has bondo?
Gotcha. Then building a panel to cover all that is what I'll try. So I get on this box, wrapping wouldnt be the best at this stage and yea I'm a lil heavy on the bondo in some spots but when I want to flatten something out and make it smooth I didn't no what else to use.
Also would there be a problem wrapping something that has bondo?
Nah, most everyone that makes things with glass have filler for the final surface.
Just make sure its smooth as glass, cuz wrapping it will magnify any surface imperfections. Not as bad as paint, but still very noticeable.
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First custom sub box
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